Search Results for: node/virginia Schools

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing Assessment of student learning is undergoing profound change at the same time reforms are taking place in learning goals and content standards, curriculum, instruction, the education of teachers, and the relationships among parents, communities, schools, government, and business. These Principles provide a vision of how to transform assessment systems and […]

for further information:Karen Hartke or Dr. Monty Neill(857) 350-8207 for immediate release, Thursday, May 31, 2001MCAS GAINS ARE UNRELIABLE BASIS FOR “HIGH PERFORMING” SCHOOL AWARDS;ANNUAL SCORE INCREASES OFTEN ARE NOT SUSTAINED;FAIRTEST ANALYSIS SHOWS YEAR-TO-YEAR CHANGES MAY RESULT FROM“LUCK OF THE DRAW,” SMALL STUDENT POOLS, “LOSS” OF LOW-SCORERS Annual changes in average MCAS scores are not […]

Revisions are needed to the ESEA legislation now in Conference Committee in order to help strengthen the effort to improve schools’ capacity to educate all children well by avoiding the dangers of too much testing, unrealistic adequate yearly progress mandates, and unfeasible “corrections” and sanctions. FairTest recommends that the Conference Committee adopt the following changes: […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing There is little evidence of the quality or benefits of tutoring services mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), yet the program diverts substantial resources from strategies known to help struggling students and schools, according to two articles in the October issue of Phi Delta Kappan. Author Carol Ascher writes […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing FairTest Examiner – October 2007 The multi-organizational Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA), which FairTest chairs, proposes a major overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind law. FEA proposals, if adopted, would create a law focused on assistance and improvement, not sanctions, and on attainable but significant […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing “I think we have to be vigilant about what we want Indian children to learn. If we’re not careful, assessment can promote cultural bias or emphasize learning that is not important to Indian people. For instance, reading assessment is in large part the assessment of one’s knowledge of the topics […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing To guarantee that no child really is left behind, schools must ensure that no child is left unknown, write Elliot Washor and Charles Mojkowski in an excellent Education Week column, “Accountability in Small Schools.” Their article describes key elements of what should be in an accountability system that includes “many […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing The Milwaukee Public Schools system (MPS) has begun to design and implement an integrated assessment system that can support and report on important student learning. While the district is still in the early stages of developing the system, MPS is ahead of other large urban districts in assessment reform. FairTest […]

During the presidential campaign, FairTest paid close attention to the candidates whenever they addressed No Child Left Behind. It will be some time before President-Elect Barack Obama takes action that will flesh out the mostly vague statements he made while campaigning, and even longer before anything specific happens with the federal education law. In the […]

Status: Archived Subject: K-12 Testing Principals at 20 New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) schools report that standardized tests are inadequate measures of the learning expected of their students. NASDC raises private sector funds to support a variety of comprehensive school reforms. According to a survey by the Rand Corporation, principals in most NASDC schools […]